"The Very Persistent Gappers of Fripp" by George Saunders (illustrated by Lane Smith)

Read: 2/21/09

4/5 stars

I found this treasure at Booksale, and though I wasn't supposed to buy any more books (owing to my New Year's Resolution), I couldn't let this one go.

I always say that illustrations bother me because I'm not really a very visual person. Neither do I buy books because they're pretty; I often focus on the text, and usually mass-market paperback versions are good enough for me. However, when I saw this book, I had to throw my resolution out the window again.

The Very Persistent Gappers of Fripp is, according to its blurb, "an adult story for children, a children's story for adults." I would say that's a very good summation. When I became an adult (read, when I turned 18, 'cause Lord knows if I'm really an adult), I developed a taste for children's literature--something which i left behind me soon after the third grade. Currently, having children provides me an excuse to buy children's books that I love. And usually, my measure for a good children's book is when I love it, too, as an adult. This book, according to my measure, is a good children's book.

Plot-wise, the story is about a girl named Capable who lives in a tiny village by the sea which survives by raising goats which are unfortunately plagued by tiny creatures called gappers. So, part of the everyday chores of the children in this 3-shanty village is to clean the goats of gappers by brushing them off the goats and throwing them back into the ocean. Problem is, the gappers come back the following day. At this point, one might wonder why the children don't just kill the damn gappers if they're too much trouble. But, obviously, this is not that kind of story.

Anyway, things begin to get interesting when the gappers, under the leadership of one who is slightly more intelligent than the rest, decide to plague not the goats of all three shanties in the village, but only the goats in the nearest shanty--the home of Capable and her father. The rest of the tale makes for the awesome moral fable.

As for the illustrations--I must say I'm artistically challenged, so I can't really say anything remotely intelligent about the pictures except that I liked them. I base that judgment on the niceness of the page (high substance, coated on both sides). But what first drew my attention was the fact that the book jacket is like parchment paper, and from underneath, you can see the painting of Lane Smith on the book cover itself. And I don't claim to be able to appreciate all the art in full, but it's true, having pretty pictures to look at was enjoyable. Oh, I did find a video clip that animated some of the characters in the book. Check it out to see how charming the drawings are.

Actually, buying this book is part of my campaign to develop my son into an artist. I already told him I'm keeping this book until such time he can read it himself, but I showed him the illustrations. I'm hoping one day, he'll see what I can't see.